The long-term effects on schools and staff of in-service courses for teachers of primary design and technology

A new curriculum subject, design and technology, was introduced into schools in England and Wales as part of a National Curriculum in 1990. In-service training for primary teachers of design and technology is an essential feature in the development of this new curriculum subject. This has taken place partly through the Grants for Education and Training (GEST) funded courses ranging from 5 to 20 days in duration. While a short training course might be evaluated for its content and modes of delivery, the effect of the course on the school itself is of much more interest and concern. Without a knowledge of the degree of change that the course has brought to pupils and teachers. an evaluation of the course will not be complete.This paper describes the results of two surveys which set out to gauge the degree of change perceived by course participants in schools as a result of GEST funded courses over the past four years. The analysis and conclusions provide indications regarding the effectiveness of the courses and suggest where improvements might be made. Many of the conclusions and recommendations would apply to a wide range of in-service courses in all curriculum areas

Using Teaching Aids in Primary School

As teachers have experienced greater pressures on their time, effective time management has become increasingly important. Priorities have to be identified and some activities that used to be carried out have had to be curtailed. Evidence from teachers' courses suggests that the making of teaching aids and support materials for design and technology has certainly been curtailed, at best, and not carried out at all in many cases. During a 10-day INSET course, teachers were given the opportunity to make a range of teaching aids and to present them in a variety of ways, appropriate to the needs of thei r schools. Liz Smart discusses the teaching aids she produced and Richard Pearson explains his rationale for the use of teaching aids